Sirach 23

NEW JERUSALEM	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
1 Lord, father and master of my life, do not abandon me to their whims, do not let me fal because ofthem.	1 O Lord, Father and Ruler of my life, do not abandon me to their counsel, and let me not fall because of them!
2 Who wil lay whips to my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom to my heart, to be merciless to myerrors and not let my sins go unchecked,	2 O that whips were set over my thoughts, and the discipline of wisdom over my mind! That they may not spare me in my errors, and that it may not pass by my sins;
3 for fear my errors should multiply and my sins then abound and I fal before my adversaries, and myenemy gloat over me?	3 in order that my mistakes may not be multiplied, and my sins may not abound; then I will not fall before my adversaries, and my enemy will not rejoice over me.
4 Lord, father and God of my life, do not let my eyes be proud,	4 O Lord, Father and God of my life, do not give me haughty eyes,
5 turn envy away from me,	5 and remove from me evil desire.
6 do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not leave me a prey to shameless desire.	6 Let neither gluttony nor lust overcome me, and do not surrender me to a shameless soul.
7 Children, listen to what I teach, no one who keeps it wil be caught out.	7 Listen, my children, to instruction concerning speech; the one who observes it will never be caught.
8 The sinner is ensnared by his own lips, both the abusive and the proud are tripped by them.	8 The sinner is overtaken through his lips, the reviler and the arrogant are tripped by them.
9 Do not get into the habit of swearing, do not make a habit of naming the Holy One;	9 Do not accustom your mouth to oaths, and do not habitually utter the name of the Holy One;
10 for just as a slave who is constantly overseen wil never be without bruises, so someone who is alwaysswearing and uttering the Name wil not be exempt from sin.	10 for as a servant who is continually examined under torture will not lack bruises, so also the man who always swears and utters the Name will not be cleansed from sin.
11 A man for ever swearing is full of iniquity, and the scourge wil not depart from his house. If he offends,his sin wil be on him, if he did it unheedingly, he has doubly sinned; if he swears a false oath, he wil not betreated as innocent, for his house wil be fil ed with calamities.	11 A man who swears many oaths will be filled with iniquity, and the scourge will not leave his house; if he offends, his sin remains on him, and if he disregards it, he sins doubly; if he has sworn needlessly, he will not be justified, for his house will be filled with calamities.
12 One way of talking is like death, let it not be found in the heritage of Jacob since devout people havenothing to do with that: they wil not wal ow in sin.	12 There is an utterance which is comparable to death; may it never be found in the inheritance of Jacob! For all these errors will be far from the godly, and they will not wallow in sins.
13 Do not get into the habit of using coarse and foul language since this involves sinful words.	13 Do not accustom your mouth to lewd vulgarity, for it involves sinful speech.
14 Remember your father and mother when you are sitting with the great, for fear you forget yourself intheir presence and behave like a fool, and then wish you had not been born and curse the day of your birth.	14 Remember your father and mother when you sit among great men; lest you be forgetful in their presence, and be deemed a fool on account of your habits; then you will wish that you had never been born, and you will curse the day of your birth.
15 No one in the habit of using shameful language wil break himself of it as long as he lives.	15 A man accustomed to use insulting words will never become disciplined all his days.
16 There are two types of people who commit sin after sin and a third who attracts retribution-	16 Two sorts of men multiply sins, and a third incurs wrath. The soul heated like a burning fire will not be quenched until it is consumed; a man who commits fornication with his near of kin will never cease until the fire burns him up.
17 desire, blazing like a furnace, wil not die down until it has been sated- the man who lusts aftermembers of his own family is not going to stop until he is quite burnt out; every food is sweet to the promiscuous,and he wil not desist until he dies;	17 To a fornicator all bread tastes sweet; he will never cease until he dies.
18 and the man who sins against the marriage bed and says to himself, 'Who can see me? There isdarkness all round me, the wal s hide me, no one can see me, why should I worry? The Most High wil notremember my sins.'	18 A man who breaks his marriage vows says to himself, "Who sees me? Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me, and no one sees me. Why should I fear? The Most High will not take notice of my sins."
19 What he fears are human eyes, he does not realise that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand timesbrighter than the sun, observing every aspect of human behaviour, seeing into the most secret corners.	19 His fear is confined to the eyes of men, and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they look upon all the ways of men, and perceive even the hidden places.
20 Al things were known to him before they were created, and are stil , now that they are finished.	20 Before the universe was created, it was known to him; so it was also after it was finished.
21 This man will be punished in view of the whole town, and wil be seized when he least expects it.	21 This man will be punished in the streets of the city, and where he least suspects it, he will be seized.
22 Similarly the woman unfaithful to her husband, who provides him with an heir by another man:	22 So it is with a woman who leaves her husband and provides an heir by a stranger.
23 first, she has disobeyed the Law of the Most High; secondly, she has been false to her husband; andthirdly, she has gone whoring in adultery	23 For first of all, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; second, she has committed an offense against her husband; and third, she has committed adultery through harlotry and brought forth children by another man.
24 and conceived children by another man. She will be led before the assembly, an enquiry will be heldabout her children.	24 She herself will be brought before the assembly, and punishment will fall on her children.
25 Her children wil strike no root, her branches wil bear no fruit.	25 Her children will not take root, and her branches will not bear fruit.
26 She wil leave an accursed memory behind her, her shame wil never be wiped out.	26 She will leave her memory for a curse, and her disgrace will not be blotted out.
27 And those who survive her wil recognise that nothing is better than fearing the Lord, and nothingsweeter than adherence to the Lord's commandments.	27 Those who survive her will recognize that nothing is better than the fear of the Lord, and nothing sweeter than to heed the commandments of the Lord.